Physiological effects of environmental temperatura variations in an hematophagous insect

SCHILMAN, P.E.

Workshop; 3° Workshop Ecofisiología: Interacciones de los organismos y su ambiente; 2017

Environmentaltemperature is an abiotic factor with great influence on various biologicalprocesses of living beings, including metabolism. Global climate changescenarios predict increases in mean temperatures and decreases of the magnitudeof its daily fluctuations. However, the physiological effects of daily thermalfluctuations remain poorly understood. On this talk, I will show the thermaldependence of physiological variables with relevance at an ecological andpopulation level on Rhodnius prolixus,vector of Chagas disease and a model organism in insect physiology. Some ofthese variables measured were variation of CO2 production rate(measured as a proxy for energy expenditure) with mass and temperature,development times from egg to adult, fecundity and fertility, thermaltolerances and nutrient consumption rates in insects reared at constant orfluctuating temperatures. We found a higher cost of living in a fluctuatingthermal environment compared to a constant thermal environment. Temperaturetolerance is not affected by thermal regime, nonetheless it is modulated bymean development temperature and moment of the day. Understanding the relationsbetween temperature and biological parameters will not only provide basic andfundamental knowledge to the field of insect physiology,but also could be of use as empirical background to develop population anddisease transmission models.